User blog:Zachattack31/So, my Opinion on Bakugan Battle Planet
Hey guys, So, I know that I haven't been on here editing and such but I try to keep up with what I can. Especially since my family and I are still dealing with Sandy related issues. But like many of you guys, I know we all heard about Bakugan Battle Planet. And luckily, there's a guy on Youtube who posted Episodes 3-20 on Christmas and I've had a chance to watch them all. And, I know that there are probably more episodes coming but I think I have a pretty good gist on what to expect moving forward and what we have now. And so far.................................................................I'm not liking it for a variety of reasons. Let me go over them and keep in mind, there will be some spoilers but honestly, I think most of us have seen at least a couple episodes already so I'm pretty sure I'm not revealing much. * 'The Opening Theme' :: I know that a lot of people, including myself, got tired of the original theme every new series. I was hoping that even though this theme would probably be shorter, it might actually be something that gets you excited. This doesn't. It sounds like the singer is whispering it at times and it's just a really lazy rap song. The old song got you, admittedly, excited and the animation showed it. This was not that. * 'The Story' :: I've got two words for this section - what story? This is some of the worst storytelling I think I have watched in a long time. It's basically like the new Ben 10 series airing now - 10 minute episodes that are mostly comedic one off stories with a very slight hint of a coherent story. But you don't seem much of the coherent story because of all the comedy they are trying to thrust in. For some weird reason, I was getting a Medabots type feel with the way they were doing storytelling and episodes.' '''If you look up one of the episodes, they do something where a citizen gets mad about Bakugan and wants them eliminated and has signs up and in the end, everybody else outvotes her. But there is also a Medabots episode where a character named Mrs Pimply (totally serious) gets mad that her anti-aging cream got run over by Medabots and made a big deal with adults vs kids and in the end, she actually got what was coming to her from her own supporters. But while that episode was about 20 minutes or so and actually paced things okay storywise, this one only had 10 minutes and really rushed the narrative, not to mention that the neighbor was causing the problem herself. * 'The Characters' :: Now, before I get into the individual characters themselves - let me go over a pet peeve of mine. In the show, the Battle Brawlers are basically called.........ugh, can't believe I am going to say this.............the Awesome Ones. I'm sorry but this is lazy to the 9th degree. Just like how I hate in the new Star Wars movies that the heroes are called the Resistance when it makes no god darn sense - this is one of the worst names for a hero team I have also seen in a while. Why not just call them Battle Brawlers or something along those lines - this is a team name that, in my opinion, is on par with the Ginyu force in terms of ridiculousness. *'Dan Kouzo''' - Well, at least they got down some parts of Dan from the original - he's a jerk at times, he's a nice guy at times. He also does not battle very well mostly and acts like he is a hotshot. Looks like they took a lot of hints from Season 4 Dan......ugh. *'Shun Kazami' - Now, here is another pet peeve of mine. At least, with the new version of Dan, he has enough signficant differences in both versions that he can be a rebooted character. However, with Shun, that is not the case. Completely difference appearance, completely different attribute and he has none of the familiar characters of Shun from the past. If anything, he is more like Marucho than Shun from the way he dresses and acts to the fact that his family is rich and powerful. Even if they were going to do him with the background differences, he should have stayed Ventus at least but nope, he's Aquos. At least he doesn't have Radizen and his Aquos Power. *'Lia Venegas' - She's okay. I would say that she is probably the "best" of the human hero characters but honestly, she seems to be too tight if anybody gets my drift. She means well but she reminds of Iris from Pokemon, and I absolutely hated her. *'Wynton Styles' - Basically, the Marucho of the group and he's okay. However, I don't really see anything special or unique with him which is kind of in the same vein as Lia. Nothing really stands out for me on him expect his outfit and large afro. *'Lightning' - Is it really sad for me to say that I actually think the dog is the best character? He's energetic, funny, fun and he shows care and concern in his unique way. Plus, I think it's cool that the dog is a Bakugan Brawler too. *'Side Characters' - Not really including much in terms of the side characters they show because none of them are really standing out at this point except to do cheap lessons of the day or again, to show comedic relief. * 'The Villains' **'AAANIMUS INC' - I want everybody to really think about the name of this company. Who...in their right mind.....would name their company this? This is embarrassing even by Bakugan standards and we all thought that the Gundalians were bad. The main villain, Philomena Dusk, looks like a Cruella de Vil cosplayer and why would you name from the main villain of your show like that?!?!?!? Benton Dusk - reminds me of Declan Akaba from Yu-Gi-Oh but more villainous because what's more villainous than a fashionable yellow scarf. Colonel Tripp - nothing. Strata the Hunter; maybe something there but so far, not seeing it. China Riot - how petty can they get with the loli/little girl stereotype. It's not a solid villain line up in my opinion. **'Magnus Black' - Obviously, this is the Masquerade villain of the show and he actually has some potential to me. He wanted to be.......ugh...........an Awesome One. And Dan was a jerk and he left and now, he's a bad guy. Or was he always a bad guy - I don't remember at this point - that's how forgettable the show is right now. But at least, he might provide something nice to watch. **'The Exit Team' - can anybody say Ginyu Force; just look up Episode 13 and see the pose they make. I'm not even going to list them individually because their names are also an embarrassment - I'm sure Akira Toriyama would laugh hysterically if he saw what they were trying to emulate. * 'The Bakugan' *'The Voices' :::: It is quite nice to see that they got Jason Deline back to voice Drago. However, while I expected Drago to be different from his original counterpart, this version feels kind of flat.The other voices are average - nothing too special or noticeable - you don't see a standout like Rob Tinkler as Helios or Shawn Meunier as Preyas. Might get to that later but so far, nothing notable. *'The Ball Forms' :::: Now, it appears that when it comes to their ball forms - they are using the upcoming Ultra Bakugan format where they are more detailed. And while more detailed is nice and I think a lot of people would prefer that; I find them a bit weird. It seems like they are trying to show a lot of personality and expressions from them but for some odd reason, I find that the original version where able to show quite a lot of expression even though their faces and movements were somewhat stationary. Plus, they weren't trying to play up comedic relief. Plus, the addition of the noticeable eyes bugs me a bit since the yellow makes them look high. *'The Monster Forms' :::: One thing that is kind of nice are the monster forms. However, in my opinion, most of them are too bulky or too large. There's not a lot of smooth lines or gracefulness, so to speak, to most of the Bakugan (aside from Pegatrix maybe). It also shows in their battles where it seems like they can barely move and only when they attack do they actually do something neat. * 'The Animation' ::: We have Man of Action to thank for this creation - they did such classics as the Ben 10 Reboot......Monsuno...............Avengers Assemble........................I'll stop now. These guys, while I'm a huge fan of their work with Avenger's Earth Mightiest Heroes and Generator Rex, they have lost some favor with me. Let me discuss the two different things with this animation. *'The 2D animation' - the 2D animation is okay. It's not the best but it certainly isn't terrible. It has a similar vein to Avengers Assemble with some hints of inspiration from their current Mega Man series. Some elements look okay but I wouldn't say it's a selling point. But it's definitely the better of the two in my opinion. *'The CGI' - this is where I have a lot of issues. The CGI looks really stiff and not very flexible. The Bakugan, when released and even in ball form - look really stiff and barely show any movements. Even in the original series, the Bakugan in Ball form had a lot of movement, flexiblity and actions. Evem the Mechtogan had more movement and articulation that these guys do. It's only when they do attacks that they look impressive and that's not a good thing. And again, the designs of the Bakugan with CGI do not look at their best. If they just gave them a bit of 2D animation movement and colorations - I think there is potential. * 'Final Verdict' ::: As I am somebody who is a fan of a lot, and I mean a lot, of pop culture franchises - I try to keep an open mind. But I am also one who has been severely disappointed in a lot of these remakes and reboots of popular franchises just trying to make money. And sadly, I think this is another one. The original had a story that went through a lot of ups and downs but also highs and lows. It told a coherent story all the way through - the characters, both main and side, were memorable for different reasons. The villains were also engaging and you liked them. The Bakugan designs were fun and it didn't ponder to just attacking and standing, standing and attacking. I didn't include a Battle section because the battles really aren't that special or strategic, unlike the original. And they weren't pandering and doing cheap comedy to get laughs and giving you cheap life lessons. It just feels shallow and although the toys might be cool and I might get some, I really have no interest watching this through. For those that like it, more power to you. But for me, this is not what I was hoping for and I wouldn't be surprised if this gets cancelled just as fast as Redakai did. Category:Blog posts